Circuit City

A family-friendly display telling the story of how the first electric power networks changed our city.

The first power station in Manchester opened on Dickinson Street in 1893. A network of cables and junctions soon snaked across the city. Thanks to this network, electricity powered factories and illuminated parts of our city on a large scale.

This mini exhibition looks at how electricity was initially generated, harnessed, supplied and used across Manchester through the story of Dickinson Street Power Station, and the impact that this had on the growth of the city, and people’s lives.